Sand conditioning apparatus



June 19, 1956 G. M. BUTZOW 2,750,640

SAND CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 19, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .50 FIGJ FIG.2

INVENTOR.

GEORGE M. BUTZOW I3 I24 060M043, MM,

ATTORNEYS June 19, 1956 G. M. BUTZOW SAND CONDITIONING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 19, 1952 INVENTOR.

GEORGE M. BUTZOW ATTORNEYS FIG.4

June 19, 1956 G. M. BUTZOW 2,750,640

SAND CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 19, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 V A I48 INVENTOR.

GEORGE M. BUTZOW ATTORNEYS United States Fatent 6 SAND CONDITIONING APPARATUS George M. Butzow, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Application August 19, 1952, Serial No. 305,179

12 Claims. (Cl. 2289) The present invention relates to material handling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for use in foundries for conditioning and distributing sand which is used in making molds and the like for producing cast metal articles.

In the art of making cast metal products, sand is commonly used for making the molds. In the foundry where the molds are made, used, and then destroyed, the sand from which the molds are made is re-used; however, before such re-use it must be reconditioned by extracting therefrom foreign material, such as metallic particles, and by adding the proper amount of moisture for tempering the sand. Further, it is necessary to arrange the reconditioned sand into windrows or piles from which the foundry man can conveniently make new molds. In the past, this conditioning or reconditioning and distributing operation was done by hand, which, of course, involved the expenditure of considerable time and expense which added to the cost of the articles produced. Several devices have been considered for reducing this wastage; however, none of these devices insofar as is known, have achieved commerical acceptance. One of the chief reasons for this lack of commercial acceptance is the fact that the devices have not been reliable in operation, nor do they perform the entire sequence of operations necessary for completely reconditioning and distributing the mold sand.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a sand handling apparatus fulfilling the long-felt need of a machine which will perform the entire series of steps necessary in providing sand ready for use in casting molds. In the accomplishment of this object, a machine for collecting, conditioning, and uniformly distributing a quantity of sand or the like material into suitably arranged piles is provided.

It is another object of this invention to provide in a sand handling apparatus a mechanism for processing used sand by coating or re-coating the sand particles with clay, said clay when dampened serving the purpose of adhering the particles together when used in forming molds.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sand handling apparatus which will insure a uniform moisture content in the finally conditioned and distributed sand.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus having the foregoing objects which may be operated by a single person and which is mobile and maneuverable to collect and distribute molding sand or the like material from a large floor area.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus having the foregoing objects which is capable of distributing sand in one of two selected directions at the will of the operator, thereby facilitating the formation of suitably arranged piles of material from which the molds may be made.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a sand handling machine for collecting, treating and distributing sand in accordance with the desires of the operator in an efficient, economical, and expeditious manner.

fit

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that specific change may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of this invention, with certain parts being broken away for clarity;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the same embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1 showing one part thereof in elevated position;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the power arrangement for driving the screw and annular conveyors of the apparatus;

Fig. 7 is a similar diagrammatic power hook-up for operating the extracting and distributing mechanism of this invention; and

Fig. 8 is another diagrammatic illustration of a power arrangement for operating the hydraulic power units and the sifting screen of the foregoing figures.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, the supporting structure is comprised essentially of two frame sections, a chassis 10 and an operating or pivot frame 12. This chassis carries on its forward end two driving wheels 14, and on its rear end, two castering wheels 16. The upper or pivot frame 12 is operatively connected to the chassis 10 by means of the pivot connection 18 arranged at the rear of the chassis 10. With this pivoting arrangement, as can be seen more clearly in Fig. 5, the upper pivot frame may be raised and lowered with respect to a transporting chassis 10 for purposes which will become apparent from the following description.

This upper frame 12 is comprised generally of two upright frame members 20 at the rear and two similar upright frame members 22 at the front. These members 20 and 22 are rigidly tied together by suitable cross members, such as the ones 24 and 26 on the upper frame portion, and also by the longitudinal frame pieces 28 on the lower frame portion.

A vibrating sifting screen device, indicated generally by the reference numeral 30 is suitably supported in the upper portion of frame 12 in a slightly inclined position as more clearly illustrated in FigsLl and 3. This sifting screen 30 is provided with an inlet 32 at its front end and a discharge area 34 at its rear end, a suitable chute 36 (Fig. 4) being mounted adjacent the discharge end 34 to receive therein the particles which are too large to sift through the screen 38 and for discharging said particles into a suitable collecting box 40.

This screen assembly 30 may be of conventional design, and preferably incorporates vibrating mechanism which causes the screen 38 to more efiiciently pass therethrough the properly sized particles. For the purpose of vibrating the screen 38, an eccentric shaft 42, extending transversely of and journaled in the sides of the screen assembly 30, has its ends received in the bearings 44 which are suitably secured to the longitudinal frame members 28. Upon rotating this shaft 42, the entire assembly 30 is effectively gyrated to cause vibration of the screen 38 and the efficient sifting therethrough of the molding sand material.

A collecting hopper or tray 46 is secured to the lower lateral and end edges of the assembly 30 in such a manner as to collect all of the material sifted by the screen 38. However, the front portion of this tray 46 is provided with an open grill work 48 which lies directly beneath the receiving end 32 of the screen assembly '30. Thus, any fine dry material entering the end '32 will immediately sift through the screen 38 and the grill work 48, and from there it will be deflected laterally in opposite directions by the by-pass channel 50, secured to the front end of the screen assembly 30, and into the two downwardly inclined by-pass chutes 52. The purpose of this by-pass construction will be explained in detail hereafter.

The collector tray 46 is provided with an outlet 54 from which the sifted material flows onto a rotating magnet drum 56 which is of conventional construction, and which is used to separate any magnetic material from the sifted particles. This drum 56 is mounted for rotation about an axle 58 extending transversely of the frame construction 12, the ends of this axle being journaled in bearings suitably mounted on the frame members 69 of the pivot frame 12. This drum 56 is so arranged that it may be rotated in opposite directions at the will of the operator, and also to perform its extracting function with the same facility regardless of the direction of rotation. In obtaining this dual-direction extracting action, the part-cylindrical electromagnet 62, which is stationary with respect to the rotatable periphery of the drum 56, is operated by means of a lever 64 secured to the magnet 62 to shift the magnet between its illustrated position (Fig. 3) and a position spaced 180 degrees therefrom. As shown, the magnet 62 is positioned for the drum to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

Also mounted on the frame members of the pivot frame 12 are two oppositely divergent deflecting plates 66 and 68, these plates being arranged on opposite sides of the magnetic drum 56 for the purpose of directing the flow of conditioned sand upwardly and either frontwardly or rearwardly.

For the purpose of throwing the conditioned material in one of these directions, flow distributor assemblies 70 and 72 are provided. Each of these assemblies 70 and 72 comprise essentially a shaft 74 suitably transversely journaled in mountings extending downwardly from the pivot frame members 60 in such a position that each assembly will be located beneath but to one side, of the magnetic drum 56. To each shaft 74, is afiixed two diametrically opposed and axially extending blades or impellers 76 which may be whirled by rotation of the axle shaft 74 for knocking or throwing the sand particles either toward the rear or toward the front of the machine depending upon the direction of rotation thereof. If the axles 74 are driven in a clockwise direction, the sand particles will be delivered out of the rear end of the machine and deflected by the plate 66. For the opposite direction of rotation, the sand particles will be thrown out of the front end of the machine and guided forwardly by the deflection plate 68.

A motor 78 mounted on the pivot frame 12 is operatively connected to both shafts 74 of the assembly 70 and 72 by means of a belt 30 for rotating the same.

A hydraulic lift or jack 134 interconnected between the chassis 10 and the pivot frame 12 is used to controi the relative pivoting action between the two frame sections.

As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 5, the front upright frame members 22 of the pivot frame 12 carry on the lower ends thereof two drive rollers 82 (also see Figs. 2 and 3) which are rotatably supported by means of bearings 84 secured to the lower ends of the frame members 22. These rollers cradle for rotation an annular sand conveyor or elevator 86 which is supported in the illus trated upright position for rotation about its axis. The drive rollers 82 are both suitably connected to rotating power means for causing the ring 86 to revolve, the preferred arrangement for supplying rotary motion to these rollers 82 being diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 6.

At the upper ends of the two front frame uprights 22 is provided a forwardly extending cantilever support 88 which is provided with an open space for receiving the upper portion of the ring 86. As seen more clearly in 4. Fig. 3 this cantilever support 88 has secured thereto on opposite sides of the ring 86 two rollers 90 and 92, respectively, which are journaled on suitable stub shafts projecting downwardly from the support 88 for the purpose of providing lateral positioning support for the ring 86. Also as can be seen more clearly in Fig. 3, the ring 86 is channel. shaped in cross section with the sides thereof being rotatably engaged by the guide rollers 90 and 92.

Also, secured. to the forward end of the cantilever support 88 is a scraper assembly 94 which carries a suitable blade (Fig. 2) 96 inclined upwardly to terminate adjacent the inner periphery of the ring 86. The purpose of this scraper 94 will be explained more fully hereafter.

A deflection apron 98 has one end edge secured along the forward end of the support 88 and its other end attached to the forward end 32 of screen assembly 3t}. This apron 98 may be constructed of any suitable flexible material, and preferably is made of rubber sheeting. The purpose of this apron is to convey material from the ring 86 to the screen assembly 30.

A scoop or sand-collecting assembly, generally indicated by the reference numeral 10%), is rigidly supported on the pivot frame 12, the supporting structure for the scoop being so arranged as to direct the collecting span thereof toward the front of the apparatus. The supporting structure for the scoop comprises two horizontally disposed frame sections 102 which extend oppositely outwardly from the two frame uprights 22 from a position intermediate the ends of the latter. Any suitable means may be used for securing the frame sections 102 to the respective uprights 22, welding being preferred. Rigidly secured to the respective outer ends of these two frame sections 102 are two scoop side plates 104 which extend upright and forwardly in substantially parallel relation. A rigid scoop-reinforcing beam 106 extends transversely between the two scoop sides 104 and is rigidly secured thereto. This beam 106 carries near its opposite ends two guide roller assemblies 108 adapted to rotatably engage the side of the ring conveyor 86 to stabilize the latter in position. Two similar guide rollers (not shown) may be installed on frame sections 132 for providing guiding force from the back side of the conveyor 86.

Secured to the rear edges of the scoop sides 104 and extending therebetween, is an upright, rigid breast plate 110 (Fig. 3) which is disposed just behind and in parallel relation with the lower portion of the conveyor ring 86. As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 3. this breast plate 110 is provided at its lower extremity with a stepped flange 112 which extends inside the walls of the ring 86. Thus, any material thrown against the breast plate 110 will drop downwardly and into the channel of the ring 86.

Extending across the front of the lower portion of the ring'fiti and in parallelism therewith is a conduit or pipe 114 which has its ends suitably supported by the scoop sides 104 respectively. This pipe 114 is provided with a plurality of apertures along its length through which water or a similar liquid may be forced to wet the material collected between the scoop sides 104. This pipe 114 also serves as a hinge support for a depending feed plate 116 which extends entirely across the front of the lower portion of the ring 86 and which terminates adjacent the scoop sides 104. The connection between this feed plate 116 and the pipe 114 is such that the plate will have a free swinging movement thereabout which will not be obstructed by the scoop sides 104. This plate 116 is provided with a feed opening 113 near its center, and along the lower edge of this opening 118 is secured a section of guide trough 120 which has its discharge end inside the ring .86 as seen more clearly in Fig. 3. Located immediately beneath the bottom edge 122 of the plate 116 is a scoop blade 124 which is hingedly supported from the lower extremities of the pivot frame uprights 22 by means of two arms 126, this hinge support being of such nature as to allow the blade 124 to be swung upwardly or downwardly to accommodate the variations in floor contour over which the machine may be operated. The blade 124 is curved on its front surface so as to engage the back side of the lower edge 122 of the plate 116 for providing an effective seal against the material being scooped from being diverted from its proper path of flow through the opening 118.

A ribbon screw or any suitable screw conveyor 128 extends transversely between the scoop sides 104 and has the ends of its supporting axle 130 journaled in the sides. This conveyor 128 is provided with two separate conveying sections 132 and 140 which have pitches oppositely arranged to direct the flow of collected material from the outer conveyor ends toward the opening 118 in feed plate 116. Thus, material thrown into the screw conveyor at either end thereof will be conducted inwardly toward the feed opening 118. By imparting a forward motion to the machine, and rotating this screw 128 in the proper direction, any material engaged by the screw 128 will be conducted through the feed opening 118 and into the channel portion of the conveyor ring 86. By rotating this ring 86 with sufiicient velocity, centrifugal force will carry this material around until it reaches the scraper 96, whereupon the material is effectively dug out of the ring and caused to drop into the deflecting apron 98 and into the end 32 of the screen assembly 30.

The various moving parts of the foregoing description are preferably operated in accordance with the diagrammatical operational hookups illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. First, with reference to Figs. 1 and 5, it is seen that the wheels 14 are driven by an electric motor 142, the power connection therebetween being the gear box 144 and the chain and sprocket connection 146. Both wheels 14 may be provided with substantially the same power-driving connections; however, any suitable arrangement for driving the chassis forwardly or rearwardly may be used without departing from the scope of this invention.

Now considering all of the figures, the screw 128 and the conveyor ring 86 are preferably driven from the same power source such as the motor 148. The connection between the screw 128 and the motor 148 is preferably made through a speed reducing gear box 150 having an output sprocket 152 which is connected by means of a chain 154 to a sprocket 156 secured to the outer end of the screw shaft 130. Power is also taken off the shaft of the motor 148 by means of a pulley and belt connection 158 which serves to drive a sprocket and chain 160 leading to the driving rollers 82 for the ring 86. Thus, with rotation of the shaft 148, the screw 128 and the two rollers 82 will be caused to rotate. The speed of rotation of the ring 86 is made such that any sand delivered into the lower portion thereof will be carried around with the ring by means of centrifugal force exerted thereon. The exact rate of rotation of any of the parts of this invention will, of course, depend upon designer preference.

The system for driving the magnetic drum 56 and the impeller assemblies 70 and 72 may simply consist of a triangular belt arrangement 88 which provides a rotating operating connection between the motor 78 and the two impellers 7i) and 72. The drum 56 itself is preferably driven by means of a rubber wheel 162 which is on the output side of the speed reducing gear box 164 having its input shaft connected for rotation to the output shaft 166 of the motor 78. The motor 78 is made reversible for the purpose of directing the flow of sand from the present invention either forwardly or rearwardly as desired.

With reference to Fig. 8, the eccentric shaft 42 which serves the purpose of vibrating the screen 38 of the assembly 30 is driven by means of a pulley 168 which serves as a part of a triangular pulley drive between the motor 170 and the hydraulic pump 172. As the motor 178 spins, the sifting screen 38 is vibrated, and the hydraulic pump is caused to develop liquid pressure for the two hydraulic jacks 134 which, as explained previously,

are interposed between the chassis 10 and the pivot frame With reference to the operation of this invention, it is seen that the invention is completely mobile and may be steered by controlling the motors 142 which supply the transporting power. With the scoop 100 lowered as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the entire mechanism may be driven forwardly to force the scoop 100 into a pile of material to be conditioned.

Maneuverability for the purpose of transporting the entire mechanism from one place to another and to pass over obstructions and piles of material is facilitated by the use of the lifting jacks 134 which pivot the upper frame 12 to the position illustrated in Fig. 5.

As explained previously, the jacks 134 are operated by energizing the motor 170 which drives the hydraulic pump 172 for generating fluid pressure communicated to the jacks as illustrated in Fig. 8.

' When the present invention is used for the purpose of reconditioning sand, as explained previously, the pump 172 is shut off by means of the valve handle 174 thereby allowing the jacks 134 to collapse under the weight of the frame 12 and to bring the scoop 100 into the position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Assuming that it is desired to produce a windrow of reconditioned material to the rear of the machine, the magnetic drum 56 is operated with the magnet 62 on the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 3, and the impeller is driven in a clockwise direction by the motor 78. With the screw 128 rotating in a direction for feeding material through the feed plate 118, and the ring 86 rotating in a counterclockwise direction, (Fig. 2) the transporting wheels 14 are driven slowly forwardly bringing the scoop assembly into the pile of material to be reconditioned. This material is conveyed inwardly from the outer ends of the screw 28 and is delivered through the feed plate opening 118 and into the channel portion of the ring 86. Since the ring 86 is rotating at a velocity sufficient to develop a centrifugal force for carrying the collected material around their ring, such material is elevated to the position where it encounters blade 96. This blade 96 effectively diverts material out of the ring 86, and causes it to fall against the deflecting apron 98 and into the inlet end 32 of the sifting screen assembly 30. Since this screen assembly 30 is continually vibrating, and is also inclined downwardly toward the rear, material will be slowly sifted through the screen and into the hopper 46. Any particles which are too large to pass through the screen 38 are fed to the rear chute 36 and into the scrap box 40.

The material collected by the hopper 46 passes downwardly through the opening 54 onto the magnetic separator 56 which serves to extract any magnetic material from the sand. The non-magnetic material Will fall to the right of the drum 56 and into the path of the blade 76 of the impeller 70, and the magnetic material will be directed into a receptacle or drawer 57 (Fig. 5), and since these blades are whirling in a clockwise direction, the conditioned sand will be thrown upwardly and toward the rear beneath the deflector plate 66. By moving the entire assembly slowly forwardly the power of the driving wheels 14, a neat windrow may be built which needs no further attention to facilitate convenient packing of molds. When the drawer 57 is filled, it may be withdrawn and emptied.

If desired, while the material is being collected by the screw 128 and fed into the conveyor ring 86, water may be injected into the pipe 114 and caused to spray out of the tiny apertures provided therein onto the material. This wetted material is then conveyed upwardly onto the screen 38 as explained previously, and sifted and distributed into piles or windrows also as explained previously. However, if it should occur that the collected material is not sufficiently wetted, that portion of the material which is dry will fall through the screen 38 adjacent the inlet end 32 from which it passes through the grill work 48 in the hopper 46, into the lateral ,chutes t), and into the downwardly inclined chutes 52. The discharge ends of these chutes 52 are located inside the scoop assembly 100 so that the sand delivered to the scoop may be effectively wetted by the spray from the pipe 114.

Thus, it is seen, that by the use of this invention, a single person can collect, uniformly wet, extract foreign materials, and distribute molding sand by a single, relatively rapid operation. If desired, the material may be piled in front of the scoop as it progresses forwardly thereby producing a pile of sand rather than a windrow by rotating the drum 56 and impeller 72 in a counterclockwise direction.

By the use of the present invention, and in particular the two pitch construction of the screw 128, the clay covering of the molding sand particles is caused to be redistributed as the two screw sect-ions force a complete intermixing of the materials being driven through the feed plate opening 118. The combination wetting action and thorough intermixing produced by the screw pitches has been found to be of particular importance in the forma tion of molds, since it conditions the clay which causes the sand particles to adhere together. Thus it is seen by the use of the apparatus as described, used molding sand and clay mixtures may be quickly and efiiciently collected and reconditioned and piled into suitable arrangements for further use in making new molds. If it should be desired to mix the material being collected more thoroughly before delivering it to the ring conveyor 86 it is only necessary to provide a door construction over the opening 118 in the feed plate 116 for preventing the passage of material out of the scoop, and continued rotation of the screw 12% would result in thorough intermixing of all the mold ing sand particles.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having supporting wieels thereon, a sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an upright annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, a hydraulic lift operatively connected between said chassis and said frame for pivoting the latter with respect to said chassis, an up right frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying two horizontally spaced conveyor driving wheels which receive thereon and therebetween said conveyor, means operatively connected to said conveyor driving wheels and adapted to rotate these Wheels for revolving said conveyor about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom and having a chute arranged to guide sand from this upper conveyor portion onto said screening device, a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which cooperate to intermix and to deliver sand into said opening and said conveyor, a liquid dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw during intermixing, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sifted sand material from the latter and to deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, a pair of delivery devices rotatably mounted on opposite sides of said magnetic separator in the paths of sand material deflected by said separator, said separator and said delivery devices being selectively operable to deliver sand in either of two directions, a dry sand chute having an inlet adjacent one end of said screening device arranged to receive dry sand from said screening device and deliver it to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate the sifting of sand ma terial.

2. In a said handling mechanism, a supporting chassis having supporting wheels thereon, a sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, a power device operatively connected between said chassis and said frame for pivoting the latter with respect to said chassis, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying two horizontally spaced conveyor driving wheels which receive thereon and there-between said conveyor, m as eperatively connected to said conveyor driving whc i; and adapted to rotate these wheels for revolving said conveyor about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom and having a chute arranged to guide sand from this upper conveyor portion onto said screening device, a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which co-operate to intermix and to deliver sand into said opening and said conveyor, a liquid dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw during intermixing, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sifted sand material from the latter and to deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, a pair of delivery devices rotatably mounted on opposite sides of said magnetic separator in the paths of sand material deflected by said separator, said separator and said delivery devices being selectively operable to deliver sand in either of two directions, a dry sand chute having an inlet adjacent one end of said screening device arranged to receive dry sand from said screening device and deliver it to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate the sifting of sand material.

3. In a sand handling mechanism, a supporting chassis having supporting wheels thereon, a sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and co1nprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, a power device operatively connected between said chassis and said frame for pivoting the latter with respect to said chassis, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying two horizontally spaced conveyor driving wheels which receive thereon and therebetween said conveyor, means operatively connected to said conveyor driving wheels and adapted to rotate these wheels for revolving said conveyor about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom and having a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which cooperate to intermix and to deliver sand into said opening and said conveyor, a liquid dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw during intermixing, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sifted sand material from the latter and to deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, a pair of delivery devices rotatably mounted on opposite sides of said magnetic separator in the paths of sand material deflected by said separator, said separator and said delivery devices being selectively operable to deliver sand in either of two directions, a dry sand chute having an inlet adjacent one end of said screening device arranged to receive dry sand from said screening device and deliver it to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate the sifting of sand material.

4. In a sand handling mechanism, a supporting chassis having supporting wheels thereon, a sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, a power device operatively connected between said chassis and said frame for pivoting the latter with respect to said chassis, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying two horizontally spaced conveyor driving wheels which receive thereon and therebetween said conveyor, means operatively connected to said conveyor driving wheels and adapted to rotate these wheels for revolving said conveyor about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom and having a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which co-operate to intermix and to deliver sand into said opening and said conveyor, a liquid dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw during intermixing, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sifted sand material from the latter and to deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, a dry sand chute having an inlet adjacent one end of said screening device arranged to receive dry sand from said screening device and deliver it to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate the sifting of sand material.

5. In a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having supporting wheels thereon, sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a. screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying means for rotatably supporting said conveyor whereby the latter will rotate about its axis, said screening device disposed adjacent the upper portion of said convey-or to receive sand therefrom, a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which co-operate to deliver sand into said opening and into said conveyor, a liquid-dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sifted sand material from the latter and deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, a dry sand chute having an inlet adjacent one end of said screening device arranged to receive sand from said screening device and deliver it to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate sifting sand material.

6. In a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having supporting wheels thereon, sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying means for rotatably supporting said conveyor whereby the latter will rotate about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom, a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for guiding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which cooperate to deliver sand into said opening and into said conveyor, a liquid-dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sand material from the latter and deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, auxiliary material-receiving means operatively associated with said screening device and having an inlet adjacent said screening device for receiving from the latter a quantity of material for delivery to said screw conveyor, and means connected to said screening device for vibrating the latter to facilitate the sifting of sand material.

7. In a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having supporting wheels thereon, sand handling apparatus pivotally supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, an upright frame support on said operating frame arranged to carry said annular conveyor, said frame support carrying means for rotatably supporting said conveyor whereby the latter will rotate about its axis, said screening device disposed adjacent the upper portion of said conveyor to receive sand therefrom, a feed plate supported adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and having an opening for receiving sand therethrough and for gliding it into said conveyor, a conveyor screw rotatably mounted adjacent said feed plate and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which cooperate to deliver sand into said opening and into said conveyor, a liquiddispensing appagatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw, a collecting tray mounted directly beneath said screening device to receive sand material from the latter and deliver this material through an opening in said tray, a magnetic separator rotatably supported beneath said tray opening in a position to receive thereon material delivered from said tray, and auxiliary materialreceiving means operatively associated with said screening device and having an inlet adjacent said screening device for receiving from the latter a quantity of material for delivery to said screw conveyor.

8. In a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having transporting wheels, a sand handling apparatus supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, means carried by said operating frame supporting said annular conveyor in an upright position for rotation about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent said conveyor for receiving sand thererom, a conveyor screw mounted for rotation adjacent said annular conveyor and being comprised of oppositely pitched screw sections which cooperate to deliver sand into said annular conveyor, means supported directly beneath said screening device for receiving sifted material from the latter, and auxiliary material-receiving lil means operatively supported by said operating frame and having an inlet adjacent said screening device for receiving from the latter a quantity of improperly processed material and for delivering this material to said screw conveyor for reprocessing.

9. in a sand handling mechanism, a chassis having transporting wheels, a sand handling apparatus supported on said chassis and comprising an operating frame which carries thereon a screening device and an annular sand conveyor arranged to collect and deliver sand to said screening device, means carried by said operating frame supporting said annular conveyor in an upright position for rotation about its axis, said screening device being disposed adjacent said conveyor for receiving sand therefrom, a conveyor screw mounted for rotation adjacent said annular conveyor for collecting and delivering material to the latter, a liquid-dispensing apparatus mounted to dispense liquid adjacent said screw, means supported directly beneath said screening device for receiving sifted material from the latter, and auxiliary material-receiving means opcratively supported by said operating frame and havin an inlet adjacent said screening device for receiving from the latter a quantity of improperly processed material and for delivering this material to said screw conveyor for reprocessing.

10. la a material handling mechanism, supporting and operating frame sections which are pivotably connected, a materiahreceiving device mounted on said operating frame and having inlet and discharge portions, power means operatively associated with said frame sections for plVOllllg the two sections relative to each other, an upright annular conveyor capable of rotating about its axis carried by said operating frame section and having its upper portion disposed to deliver material into the inlet of said material-receiving device, auxiliary materialreceiving means mounted adjacent Said inlet to receive material discharged by said material-receiving device, a conveyor screw having two oppositely arranged sections C21: led by said operating frame section adjacent the lower portion of said conveyor and operative to pick up and deliver material into said annular conveyor which carries the material upwardly for discharge into said materialreceiving evice, said auxiliary material-receiving means being operatively associated with said operating frame and having outlet from which material may flow toward said screw conveyor, liquid dispensing means mounted adjacent said screw conveyor and operative to wet material as it is being delivered to said annular conveyor, and distributing means carried by said operating frame section in position to receive material discharged by said material-receiving device and to distribute it in either one of two opposite directions.

ll. in a material handling mechanism, supporting and operating frame sections which are pivotably connected, a material-receiving device mounted on said operating frame and having inlet and discharge portion-s, power means operatively associated with said frame sections for pivoting the two sections relative to each other, an annular elevator capable of rotating about its axis carried by said operating frame section and having its upper portion disposed to deliver material into the inlet of said material-receiving device, auxiliary material-receiving means mounted on said operating frame adjacent said inlet to receive material discharged by said materialreceiving device, a conveyor screw having two oppositely arranged sections carried by said operating frame section adjacent the lower portion of said elevator and operative to pick up and deliver material into said elevator which carries the material upwardly for discharge into said material-receiving device, said auxiliary material-receiving means having an outlet from which material may flow toward said screw conveyor, liquid dispensing means mounted adjacent said screw conveyor and operative to wet material as it is being delivered to said elevator, and distributing means carried by said operating frame section in. position to receive material discharged by said n'iaterial-receiving device and to distribute it ,in'either one of two opposite directions.

12. in a material handling mechanism, supporting and operating frame sections which are pivotably connected, a material-receiving device mounted on said operating frame and having inlet and discharge openings, power means operatively associated with said frame sections for pivoting the two sections relative to each other, an annular elevator capable of rotating about its axis carried by said operating frame section and having its upper portion disposed to deliver material into the inlet of said material-receiving device, auxiliary material receiving means mounted adjacent said inlet to receive material discharged by said material-receiving device, a conveyor screw having two oppositely arranged sections carried by said operating frame section adjacent the lower portion of said elevator and operative to pick up and deliver material into said elevator which carries the material upwardly for discharge into said material-receiving device, said auxiliary material-receiving means having an outlet from which material may flow toward said screw conveyor, and distributing means carried by said operating frame section in position to receive material discharged by said material-receiving device and to distribute it in either one of two opposite directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 752,646 Boughton Feb. 23, 1904 2,200,623 James May 14, 1 940 2,553,234 Bouchcr May 15, 1951 2,567,472 Crandall Sept. 11, 1951 2,631,834 Butzow Mar. 17, 1953 2,650,396 Koren Sept. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 533,279 Germany Sept. 10, 1931 and, M6... 

